The death toll on Israel’s roadways continues to climb as 88 people have been killed on the nation’s roads from January 1, 2016 to the morning of April 11th, including three on Sunday 2 Nissan (April 10th).

On Sunday, a 10-year-old boy was struck by a bus and killed on a bicycle on Shmuel HaNavi Street in Yerushalayim; a 76-year-old woman was struck and killed by an 18-year-old new driver in Ashdod and a 45-year-old male was killed in the Golani Jct. area in the north due to a vehicular accident.

It is reported that of the 355 road-related deaths in 2015, 98 were from the Arab sector. According to the ‘Ohr Yarok’ NGO report, the profile of the young inexperienced Arab driver is a most worrisome one that demands attention. The NGO study includes interviews and questionnaires given to almost 2,000 young participants in that sector.

Many admitted to driving without a license (40%), at excessive speed and crossing solid white lines regularly. 89% believe seat belts save lives but one in three in the sector does not use them regularly.

66% agree that passing another vehicle by crossing a solid white line is dangerous, but 37% admit to doing so regularly and 41% will not comment to the driver doing it while they are in the vehicle.

The older drivers in the Arab community feel adherence to the laws makes one a good driver, a sentiment that does not appear to be shared by the youth in that sector.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)